Health exchange, food stamp cutoffs keep DSS busy

Published: Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:38 p.m.

As the deadline for residents to buy private health insurance or face a penalty approached Monday, Pender County Department of Social Services workers faced an increased workload.

The end-of-March deadline for consumers was set by the federal health insurance overhaul law. Enrollments in North Carolina ranked fifth in the nation by the end of February, and shopping picked up in the final week, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, one of two companies selling policies on a statewide marketplace.

Applicants could apply directly at HealthCare.gov, and those who qualify for Medicaid must be processed through the local DSS offices.

Pender County workers had worked on 22 applications through 2 p.m. Monday. On a typical day, the workers would have processed about eight, said Pender County DSS Director Reta Shiver.

People could comply with the insurance mandate if they are covered by an employer or a government program, of if they buy a policy directly from an insurer. Working through the federal marketplace – North Carolina was one of 36 states that refused to set up its own exchange – was necessary to qualify for subsidies. More than nine out of 10 people who enrolled by March 1, the latest period for which details were available, qualified for subsidies.

But thousands of others missed the deadline. They either didn't know about the requirement to buy health insurance, couldn't afford it despite the subsidies, or rejected being told to buy coverage.

North Carolina's reported enrollment so far has outstripped federal projections in advance of October's start of the open enrollment period. Those projections were for 191,000 people to enroll by March 31. By March 1, just over 200,000 people North Carolina residents had selected a health insurance policy, more than half the nearly 391,000 eligible to enroll in a marketplace plan, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Final numbers may not be announced for weeks. Spokesmen for Blue Cross and a division of Aetna, the only other company selling policies on the exchange to North Carolina consumers, declined to describe the scope of their business.

New Hanover and Brunswick counties did not report an overload of Medicaid applications Monday, but like all DSS facilities across the state, they had a different problem.

Monday also was the next deadline for North Carolina to clear its backlog of food stamp applications and recertifications. The state met a Feb. 10 deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the March 31 loomed. If the state failed to meet the requirements, it would receive a formal warning from the USDA and be given 30 days to rectify the issue.

For much of Monday, DSS employees were unable to access NC FAST, the system that has been blamed for causing the backlog. When it did come online around 2 p.m., workers still faced glitches. The system, when fully functional, will cut down on duplication of data entry and will determine eligibility for several government programs simultaneously.

The system was updated over the weekend with revised federal poverty guidelines, said Kevin Howell, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman. "Unfortunately, the NC FAST system is experiencing latency issues due to the updates," he said via email.

Avril Pinder, New Hanover County assistant manager, said DSS employees were prepared to work until 7 p.m. Monday to clear the outstanding food stamp cases. The cases could not have been cleared before Monday, Pinder said, because applicants had until March 31 to submit information. Pinder said as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, New Hanover County had about 135 food stamp cases remaining to be cleared.

"That's doable if the system stays up," she said.

And she convinced herself that it would. "I'm always the optimist. It will be fine," she said.

<p>As the deadline for residents to buy private health insurance or face a penalty approached Monday, Pender County Department of Social Services workers faced an increased workload. </p><p>The end-of-March deadline for consumers was set by the federal health insurance overhaul law. Enrollments in North Carolina ranked fifth in the nation by the end of February, and shopping picked up in the final week, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, one of two companies selling policies on a statewide marketplace.</p><p>Applicants could apply directly at HealthCare.gov, and those who qualify for Medicaid must be processed through the local DSS offices.</p><p>Pender County workers had worked on 22 applications through 2 p.m. Monday. On a typical day, the workers would have processed about eight, said Pender County DSS Director Reta Shiver.</p><p>People could comply with the insurance mandate if they are covered by an employer or a government program, of if they buy a policy directly from an insurer. Working through the federal marketplace – North Carolina was one of 36 states that refused to set up its own exchange – was necessary to qualify for subsidies. More than nine out of 10 people who enrolled by March 1, the latest period for which details were available, qualified for subsidies. </p><p>But thousands of others missed the deadline. They either didn't know about the requirement to buy health insurance, couldn't afford it despite the subsidies, or rejected being told to buy coverage. </p><p>North Carolina's reported enrollment so far has outstripped federal projections in advance of October's start of the open enrollment period. Those projections were for 191,000 people to enroll by March 31. By March 1, just over 200,000 people North Carolina residents had selected a health insurance policy, more than half the nearly 391,000 eligible to enroll in a marketplace plan, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. </p><p>Final numbers may not be announced for weeks. Spokesmen for Blue Cross and a division of Aetna, the only other company selling policies on the exchange to North Carolina consumers, declined to describe the scope of their business.</p><p>New Hanover and Brunswick counties did not report an overload of Medicaid applications Monday, but like all DSS facilities across the state, they had a different problem.</p><p>Monday also was the next deadline for North Carolina to clear its backlog of food stamp applications and recertifications. The state met a Feb. 10 deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the March 31 loomed. If the state failed to meet the requirements, it would receive a formal warning from the USDA and be given 30 days to rectify the issue.</p><p>For much of Monday, DSS employees were unable to access NC FAST, the system that has been blamed for causing the backlog. When it did come online around 2 p.m., workers still faced glitches. The system, when fully functional, will cut down on duplication of data entry and will determine eligibility for several government programs simultaneously.</p><p>The system was updated over the weekend with revised federal poverty guidelines, said Kevin Howell, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman. "Unfortunately, the NC FAST system is experiencing latency issues due to the updates," he said via email.</p><p>Avril Pinder, New Hanover County assistant manager, said DSS employees were prepared to work until 7 p.m. Monday to clear the outstanding food stamp cases. The cases could not have been cleared before Monday, Pinder said, because applicants had until March 31 to submit information. Pinder said as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, New Hanover County had about 135 food stamp cases remaining to be cleared.</p><p>"That's doable if the system stays up," she said. </p><p>And she convinced herself that it would. "I'm always the optimist. It will be fine," she said.</p><p><I></p><p>This story contains information from The Associated Press.</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic87"><b>Mike Voorheis</b></a>: 343-2205</I></p>